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Replies to: Unpaid Balance Due = No transcript...what will happen?

Well...the biggest issue you will have is that without a transcript the "transfer to" school will not accept any of your daughter's previously earned credits. How would they verify what she has already taken without an official transcript from the school?

Schools don't like to enroll students who are stiffing their previous institution - could be the start of a trend.

You need to pay off the previous school now to avoid problems at the new school. And about your question as to whether they withhold student loans - You cannot take out loans if you cannot register and NO you cannot use student loans from the new school to pay off debts at the old school.

If you cannot pay off the previous school and cannot get outside money to do so, it is time to take a semester off, get a job, and pay off the bursar.

Thank you-
We have every intention of paying her school.... we just doubt that we can get all the money to them by Sept.

Briefly - due to her uncles death, her aunt moving in, and my illness - I got behind in a tution payment plan. We worked with the school, they re-calulated, converted unused work-study to a grant, and I payed what I though we owed. But THEY messed up, and we onlyfound out we still owed money FROM FALL TERM about a month before the end of SPRING term.

I just wanted all to know we didn't intentionally 'stiff' the school. Her admission and transfer paperwork had all gone through to transfer before the bursar created the "revised" bill and put the bursar's hold on her account to hold the spring transcript.

So thumper, I think you're right, you'll right, they can't evaluate her last semester's credits, so at best, she'll loose a semester's work, at worse, she won't be able to register.

She got a 3.9 last term...It's good for her to have to work, but it s--ks for her to have to drop out...plus she'll lose outside scholarship money for not being continuously in school.

i would talk to whoever is the director of the bursar at the school and have them look over the account once again. do it as soon as you can.

in the meantime call the admissions dept of the new school and explain the situation to them. ask them if there is any way (if necessary) they can defer admission until the next semester, but don't do anything until you get a response from the bursar from the previous school.

of course this means that she might lose the scholarship, but it may give you more time to pay the previous balance if the bursar says that their calculations are correct and you do indeed owe the money.

please let us know what happened when you talk to the bursar director.

First, follow Baker's advice and make sure the account is correct. If it is, talk to the school she is leaving about setting up a payment arrangement and see if they will release the transcript this one time if a payment arrangement is in place (you may need to make the initial payment). Remind them that you followed through with the original payment plan and that you would have had the total amount paid if the college had the account in order when your original payment plan was negotiated. Be firm, but understanding of their policies.

Also call the school she is going to and explain what is going on -- let them know that you fully intend to pay off the balance, but it might not happen by Sept. Ask if your D will still be allowed to register for classes and receive FA. Also ask if they will accept the credits from her old school if they don't recieve the final transcript until later in the fall. You will need to talk with multiple offices -- admission, bursar, registrar -- but I really think you can make it work.

Thank you all for your input.
The Bursar insists that the amount due is correct but she does not have a good explanation for why there was a six month delay between the termination of the tuition payment plan in the fall and the discovery and carry-over of an unpaid $2K+
I HAVE stayed in phone conctact with the school and am on first name basis with Bursar reassuring them we will pay.
It is a good idea offered by people above...I will call back again to offer to set up a payment plan - in the same converation I want to share that their late discover has make this time & cash flow squeeze nearly impossible and she may be out of school completely. Wish they would do automatic debits but they don't even usually accept credit cards for tuition.
We want to make this work. She's a good student and it breaks my heart cause she works so hard. I feel like such a failure as a parent.
The new school WILL evaluate credits submitted after starting as long as they were completed prior to starting. However I haven't had the courage to tell them the reason we don't have the transcript yet, which might change things.
If my D can start the local school then our FA situation will be so much better, because her FA package (with unsubsidized loans) is almost $4K more than tuition/fees. So she will eventially get a $2K cash refund in the fall from the FA office towards books and expenses which is why I think it's reasonable to try for desparate/payday loans/D getting credit cards/financing for the month then catch up later.
I know I could make her suck-it-up and drop out, but the amount due doesn't seem worth such a painful gap in education. We've talked about how many great and famous people have had to deal with disappointment and adversity. So going forward , her having to work and pay her all her own expenses in school could be a GOOD thing.
I really do believe that our family's experience (going from manicures and UGG slippers) to counting change for bus fare to local college that costs 1/4 as much... IS GOING TO BE MORE COMMON as the economy shakes about and comfortable families lose jobs etc.

I hope some people read this and realize being forced to "cut back" to a less expensive college can be a good thing.

D has become very resourceful, she didn't want to be a commuter into city from home so she got herself a resident advisor position at the International House, something she probably wouldn't have done...but now she's excited about it.

Also, it was good advice to stay in touch with the college owed to, they have been reasonable. They want their money, but have taken partial payments and not been nasty. I'll post when the last payment's credited

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